I would be less than honest if I didn't tell you that, over the years, I've had a on-again/off-again relationship with Typepad. I'm sure if I asked for their opinion, my social media colleagues would line up in a row telling me I should switch to Wordpress. For any number of reasons, they would be right.
I have used Wordpress in the past, even switching from Typepad for a previous blog. Most recently, I used it for my book site, The Digital Handshake (which now resides on Typepad).
However, something draws me back to Typepad again and again. For me, and for many others as well, Typepad is the "just right" platform. It's easy to use, simple to customize, and well-suited for the small business person who hasn't the time or the inclination to learn the many nuances Wordpress offers.
I'm not suggesting that any one blogging platform is right for every situation, but, for many people, Wordpress is just too much...and Blogger is not enough. (Kind of reminds me of Goldilocks. You know, dad's bed was too hard, momma's bed was too soft, but baby's bed was just right.)
I'm not the only person who feels this way. The ideal example is custom sign-maker J. D. Iles, owner of Lincoln Signs, located in Lincoln, NH. J. D, who credits me with getting him started blogging, has been using Typepad since 2004 for his Signs Never Sleep blog.
But, it's not just small business people who make use of the platform. Well-known email marketing platform provider, Vertical Response, also uses it for the CEO's blog. (So does Martha Stewart for that matter! And so does Seth Godin.)
How to know if Typepad is right for you
Here is a list of criteria for judging whether Typepad is the right solution for you:
1. You already have a Web site, but need a blog
2. You don't have a Web site, but need something you can easily maintain and update
3. You are not technically-inclined (the thought of having to know HTML makes you queasy)
4. You don't have time to learn all the Wordpress bells and whistles
5. You don't have the budget to hire a designer/developer
6. You don't want to have the hassle of hosting a blog on your own server
7. You don't want the hassle of setting up Wordpress
8. You don't want to have to deal with the restrictions of using Wordpress.com (no ads, for example)
9. You like doing business with the company that put business blogging on the map
10. You like doing business with a company that takes the needs of small business to heart
Typepad provides their own list of reasons as well.
I can feel it coming, the "Wordpressistas" who will not hesitate to tell me (and you) why Wordpress beats Typepad hands down. Don't bother. I know all the reasons.
Yet, for many of us, particularly the people I love to hang out with - those who are still very much on the periphery of social media - Typepad is a perfect "just right" solution. I've been a proud "Typepadista" since December 2003.
If you're considering a blog platform, let me encourage you to try Typepad, if for no other reason than they offer a 14-day free trial.
Wordpressista's just find that WordPress is "just right" for them :) WordPress sites can be as simple or as complex as you want to make them.
It's okay that you like Typepad, some people even like Drupal amd Joomla!
Posted by: JTk | June 02, 2010 at 10:44 AM
Different strokes for different folks, right?
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 02, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Joomla - to run a blog, really? Just the mere mention sends shivers down the old spine.
I haven't looked at Typepad for a long time, but the features it has now make it a far more attractive proposition. I think another test run may be in order!
Granted, I'll hardly ever be swayed from a self-hosted WordPress install, and if you've already got a site hosted on an Apache server with cPanel and Fantastico / Installatron, it's a one-click process that isn't going to cost anymore than you already pay for hosting.
Then again, how many small business (or large business) folks do you know who know their server setup?
You're right about WordPress and its nuances - or infinite customizations. While I love that element, the ability to post (cracking) content and not worry about the backend is a strong consideration for nearly everyone.
I'd love to see a shoot-out between the main blogging platforms (even pretenders) by relatively sane small business people and see what conclusions they draw.
Posted by: Paul Woodhouse | June 02, 2010 at 12:35 PM
No doubt!
Posted by: JTk | June 02, 2010 at 01:14 PM
Thanks for the awesome post. Great to see that TypePad is working out for you.
Posted by: kimmi8 | June 02, 2010 at 01:31 PM
Paul, thank you for weighing in with your usual on-target comments. I appreciate it.
As to the shoot-out idea, I can tell you that any number of small business people I've talked to tell me Wordpress is too much. They get lost in the interface. And asking a small business owner to do a Wordpress install, Fantastico notwithstanding, ain't gonna happen.
That's not to suggest there aren't plenty of small business people who get off on doing exactly that, but there are many more who don't have the stomach for it. For them, Typepad is a great solution.
The absolute worse case scenario is for a small business owner to use Blogger (Blogspot) simply because they don't know any better.
Again, thanks for commenting. I appreciate it.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 02, 2010 at 05:14 PM
It has for many years Kimmie. Thanks for noticing. :-)
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 02, 2010 at 05:15 PM
I'm with ya, Paul. I have respect for Wordpress but I am in the category of "too busy to care" about those other features. Great post.
Posted by: Claire Celsi | June 02, 2010 at 08:39 PM
Thanks Claire. Again, Typepad is the "just right" platform for many of us.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 03, 2010 at 01:07 AM
I went through some excellent points that have been listed out in this post and i feel Typepad is working well compared to other alternatives. So many like Joomla (CMS), Wordpress, Blogger and the list goes on and on..! Thanks for stopping by with great info.
Posted by: California Traffic School | June 04, 2010 at 03:31 AM
That last sentence in your comment should be mine. Thank you for stopping by with a great comment.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 04, 2010 at 04:25 PM
Paul, thanks for sharing your perspective on TypePad. I've been a TypePadista since 2004 and love the platform. I get flack all the time from people who tell me it's an inferior product or that wordpress is better. I say, they are different and wordpress is not always the best solution for businesses for precisely the reasons you outline. I have a couple of sites on wp and find they are more complex to figure out and manage and that I have to have a blog designer to get them set up properly and I'm pretty savvy about this stuff.
As you say "different strokes". And when people ask me which platform they should use I say "it depends" and work with them to figure out the best solution for their needs.
Thanks for calling it like you see it...blog on!
Posted by: Denise Wakeman | June 05, 2010 at 01:58 PM
I had to smile when reading your post; and I'm still smiling. I started in TypePad in 2008 (yup, latecomer). For the past three weeks, I've been researching different options for my business and my blogging. I went so far as trying to teach myself Joomla and Drupal. Then I went with DotNetNuke.
While the DotNetNuke setup was simple enough, the back-end work and maintenance was too time consuming. I looked at WordPress briefly, but it just didn't seem like what I was looking for. End result, I've come back to TypePad.
TypePad doesn't (yet) meet all of my needs, but given how easy it is to set up and its flexibility, TypePad has shown itself to be the best choice for me.
Posted by: Marsha Ford | June 06, 2010 at 07:21 AM
Did you know? Typepad is (currently) accessible in China, Wordpress and all the Google-hosted blog platforms are (currently) blocked.
Just another 1.3 billion reasons you might find Typepad a wee bit more persuasive if you're a small business :-)
Wen
http://www.goingwithmygut.com
Posted by: WenLin Soh | June 07, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Thanks for your comments Denise. I'm very glad you weighed-in because I was thinking of you the entire time I was writing the post. Like me, you find Typepad to be quite useful in most circumstances.
What can I say, great minds!
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 08, 2010 at 04:05 PM
I'm glad to hear that Marsha. Going from DotNetNuke to Typepad is quite a swing! :-)
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 08, 2010 at 04:08 PM
WenLin, I'm very glad to hear that and I'm sure the folks at Typepad are as well. I have a heart for China in terms of its use of blogging for business. I hope the day comes when I can make my way there to meet with fellow bloggers. Thanks for enlightening us about this.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 08, 2010 at 04:10 PM
LOL! Yes, it is. It's also quite a relief! Now I can focus on learning CSS so I can tweak my TypePad pages.
Posted by: Marsha Ford | June 09, 2010 at 06:10 AM
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said... but they will always remember how you made them feel.Did you agree with me ?
Posted by: coach suitcase | July 15, 2010 at 11:34 PM
I too am one of those guys who think "if it ain't broke why fix it" i have been using Wordpress platform for my blog for quite a while and have had no issues. But after reading this post and doing some more research on Typepad, what the heck. i will install my new blog on it and take it for a test drive.
Posted by: Rodney Of Small Business Internet Marketing Blog | July 25, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Let me know how it goes Rodney. I'd like to see what your thoughts are once having set it up.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | July 25, 2010 at 04:37 PM
It's good to hear that Typepad works just right for you, but for me, I prepare using Wordpress, I can easily optimized it with some of the new plug-ins.
Posted by: Professional SEO Company | July 29, 2010 at 11:17 PM
I use wordpress all the time but I've not really checked out Typepad... in your experience Paul, how has it done with SEO?
Posted by: Matt of Small Business Marketing Solutions | August 09, 2010 at 02:45 PM
Typepad does well with SEO in my experience.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | August 10, 2010 at 01:14 PM
Sorry one of those "Wordpressistas" because I can on a pretty consistent basis get my blogs targeting specific keywords on the 1st page of Google.
Many in the IM community believe that you get a little extra boost in the Google search engine for using Wordpress.
Not knocking Typepad though, I know many people who love it; I might decide to give it a try to see why people like it so much.
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